Pages

Thursday, December 22, 2016

The Knoxville News-Sentinel recently published an editorial that was very negative toward the Tennessee Firearms Association's plans for the 2017 legislative session.

Below is the text of my (somewhat tongue in cheek) response, which can be seen at the KNS site HERE.

Second, First Amendments need equal footing

A bill pre-filed for the 2017 Tennessee legislative session would remove onerous restrictions on the freedom of the press. Currently, reporters are required to get a license from the secretary of state. They must provide a transcript from a regionally accredited university, then take a proficiency test from a state contractor. Following a background check, they are issued a card-carrying reporter's license. Once licensed, reporters are allowed to report from courthouses, libraries and hospitals but must leave their pens, pencils, paper, laptops, etc., in their vehicles.
The bill, the First Amendment Restoration Act of 2017, would remove the training and licensing requirements.
Critics fear that removal of the state licensing law would encourage more deaths, as have been attributed to unlicensed publications such as Mao Zedong's "On Guerrilla Warfare."
But wait, it’s not the First Amendment, but the Second that needs restoration. The one you editorialized against on Dec. 11.
You mentioned the “effort to pass a constitutional carry law in Tennessee, which would eliminate the necessity...that the permit holder must undergo training...” Are you aware that Georgia permits, which Tennessee honors, require no training? Do you quake in fear each time you see a Georgia license plate?
You go on to state, “One can only imagine how many fender-benders ...will deliver a cascade of grief and regret to the families and friends of innocent victims.” No need to imagine. Just check with Vermont, Arizona and Alaska. An honest reporter’s investigation would reveal no related problems in those states. Yet Chicago, with very strong keep and bear restrictions, has tremendously high crime rates.
The unified chorus of reason Tennesseans should raise is for the restoration of the Second Amendment to equal footing with the First.
Liston Matthews, Knoxville

---

To me, it is always funny how much of the press shelters in place behind the First Amendment, while taking shots at the Second.